The number of companies in the Inc. 500 that maintain a blog dropped significantly in 2011. Just 37% kept a corporate blog down from half in 2010, 45% in 2009 and 39% in 2008, according to the University of Massachusetts study.

Marketing and advertising companies were found to be the most likely bloggers compared with companies in government services and construction who make very little use of this social media tool.

According to the report, the leveling off of the use of blogs raises questions about whether the use of blogging may have peaked as a primary social media tool for business.

"This research proves once again that social media has penetrated parts of the business world at a tremendous speed. It also indicates that corporate usage of social media within the Inc. 500 has changed in the past 12 months," according to the two researchers who conducted the study, Nora Ganim Barnes and Ava Lescault.

"We are now seeing the incorporation of new platforms and tools including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, texting, downloadable mobile apps and Foursquare while we note the reduction in use of blogging, message boards, video blogging, podcasting and MySpace."

When social marketing firm Wildfire Interactive quizzed 700 marketers worldwide about their social media use a whopping 97% said it was of benefit and many intend to increase their social media spend over the coming year.

Forty-one percent of Wildfire's respondents ranked blogging among their top three social media marketing channels coming behind Facebook (94%) and Twitter (74%). However, Wildfire forecasts this will all change with the launch of Twitter's branded pages, LinkedIn's developer launch and the continued growth of blogging networks.

About The Author:

Helen Leggatt is a British freelance writer living in New Zealand. She entered the marketing industry in the early 1990's just as the internet was beginning to be seen as a useful marketing tool. Helen was an early adopter of online and honed her skills managing blue chip accounts for Direct Marketing agencies, such as WWAV Rapp Collins, in the UK and Asia. Since 1999 Helen has operated as a freelance marketing consultant and after moving to New Zealand in 2004 is now concentrating on writing and reporting for the e-business community. Feel free to contact Helen at [email protected] if you have a story you'd like to see covered by Bizreport, particularly in the areas of viral marketing and e-commerce.